1700 Proven

In his introduction to the Venetian cadastre of Argos, the engineer Francesco Vandeyk describes a castle on a high hill near the sea, called Anasiri, or by many 'Old Argos' or 'Helen's castle'. Below it, he writes, water gushes out in such abundance that it turns several mills on the beach. The mills were very convenient for Nafplio: grain was brought over the water by boat, and the same boats took the flour back to the city.

Read the full story: From spring to pump: how the water of Lerna made Myloi

Where
The water mills, Pontinos hill and castle, Myloi beach, Nafplio
Who
Francesco Vandeyk
Threads
Water and mills, Harbour and pier, Industry and trade
Certainty
Proven confirmed by primary sources

Sources

  • ASV, Sindici Inquisitori in Levante, b. 81: Catastico ordinario … territorio di Argos, F. Vandeyk, 1700, introduction; published in Ευτυχία Δ. Λιάτα, «Αργεία γη. Από το τεριτόριο στο βιλαέτι», ΚΝΕ/ΕΙΕ 82, Αθήνα 2003, Appendix doc. 1, p. 108 Open (opens in a new tab)

Also in this period

  1. 1687–1714

    The Venetians expand the mills

    After the Peloponnese came under Venice in 1687, the Venetians greatly expanded the mills of Lerna. They built connected vaulted granaries, fitted new grinding machinery and surrounded the complex with a stone dam with…

    ProbableWater and millsIndustry and trade

  2. 1688–1715

    A monopoly on the ferry, coffee and eels

    Under Venice, transport between Nafplio and the mills was a state concession. The leaseholder had the sole right to carry people and goods by sea between Nafplio and the mills of Kiveri, to bring grain to the mills and…

    ProbableHarbour and pierWater and millsIndustry and trade

  3. 10 July 1694

    A Venetian field camp 'at the Mills of Argos'

    On 10 July 1694 the Venetian commander-in-chief in the Morea, Marino Michiel, dated a dispatch to the Senate 'from the camp at the Mills of Argos'. Venetian and French writers used that name both for Kefalari near Argos…

    DisputedWar and occupationWater and mills

  4. 1698

    A water-driven gunpowder workshop

    In 1698, according to the Ephorate of Antiquities, the Venetians added a gunpowder workshop to the mills, driven by the water of the springs. How long it worked is not known.

    ProbableIndustry and tradeWater and mills